Ranger's Apprentice: Mystery of the Lost Dress
by MrHyphen
Summary: Alyss has lost her dress five days before the Midsummer's Ball. It's all Will's fault, right? Other exciting stuff happen. Read.
1. Chapter 1

**My god, it's been so long since I've written ANYTHING! Well, I've moved to Ranger's Apprentice. Yup. #$% Warriors. Lol. Anyways, this is just gonna be some random thingy. Any criticism and help is welcome. Flame if you help! Flame=bad unless w/ help. Push that green/blue button below. You know you want. RAWR! DO IT OR ELSE!**

**BTW: I've tried to come up with an idea which is like an older Will, but not like the Ranger's Apprentice all over again except with new characters. So this is what I came up with… It's gonna be short, a few chapters at most.**

"Will! Have you seen my dress?" Alyss called.

"Which one?" Will asked irritably. "The red one? The black one? The one black one with white. The white one with black?"

"No!" Alyss said exasperatedly. "The light pink one with pearls on it."

"OH!" Will exclaimed.

Alyss walked into the main room where will was sitting next to the fireplace, crackling merrily. "So you know where it is?" Alyss asked hopefully.

"What?" Will asked innocently.

"My dress Will," Alyss said, slightly annoyed.

"Uh, yeah, um," Will stuttered.

Alyss' eyes turned cold. "Will Treaty! You were to take my dress to the tailor to get it mended! Don't you DARE tell me you lost it!" Alyss said dangerously.

"Uhhhhhhhh." Will muttered.

"Well?" Alyss asked, tapping her foot as she put her hands on her hip. This was a very dangerous predicament for Will.

"Well," Will shrugged hopelessly. "I can't say what I'm supposed to say."

"WILL!" Alyss shrieked. "Whatever will I wear to the ball?"

"Ball?" Will said, a tad bit panicky. "What ball?"

"What do you mean 'What ball?' I told you about that a fortnight ago!" Alyss snapped.

"No!" Will asked. "I am NOT going to a ball!" Will crossed his arms.

Will and his former master Halt had a legendary dislike of parties, balls, gatherings, and other public affairs. Of course, their mistresses delighted in taking them out in as many parties, balls, gatherings, and other public affairs as possible. In these kinds of emergencies, Halt and Will had been know to disappear, coincidentally at the same time, and only return when the public affair had finished. Of course, everyone knew what had happened.

"You are! And that's that!" Alyss said, stomping her foot. "If you don't, you and I are done Will Treaty!" Alyss stomped off in a huff.

Will sighed. "You say that every time!" he called to Alyss' retreating back, probably not the best thing to say after what had just transpired. Alyss stopped. She turned on her heel and stomped back to will, her heels clacking ominously on the wooden floor. She stopped at Will's chair and leaned down.

"Don't try me Will! Actually," Alyss said and stood up very suddenly. "you and I are done. We are done until you find my dress."

"Wait, wait wait," Will said hastily. "What do you mean?"

"You heard me." Alyss said. "Find my dress or we are done. And find it in five days, which is the Midsummer's Ball."

"Oh! So that's the ball." Will cried.

"Who cares! Alyss snapped. "Find the dress!"

"Okay! God! Why did I get such a bossy wife?" Will muttered under his breath as he trudged out the door of his house. "Oh wait!" he suddenly cried, remembering that he needed to get something.

Will grabbed his Ranger gear, which included: One mottled cloak, one longbow, one bowstring, 24 arrows, one saxe knife, one throwing knife, and two leather boots. Will quickly put everything on before hustling out the door.

"Okay, time to find that dress! First, let me make sure all my Ranger skills are still up to date!" Will took out Tug, his faithful steed, and rode the long hundred meters to his practice range where he spent the rest of the day shooting arrows, throwing knives, and doing other secret Ranger thing which cannot be revealed. Will was ready for a good nap before supper and rode Tug back to his house. Once he had unsaddled Tug and brushed him down, he walked up to his front door and tried to open it. Locked. Will frowned. He usually kept the door unlocked until night, when he locked it. He tried the door again. Then he knocked and yelled, "Alyss! The door's locked! Can you let me in?"

"No!" Came Alyss' muffled voice through the door. "Find my dress before coming back!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Will cried.

"Sorry. I'm serious this time!" Alyss yelled. "Get it back in five days or you will NEVER come back! At least I'm giving you a chance right now."

"True," Will reflected. "Fine. I'll go find it." Will sighed. He trudged back to the stable to saddle Tug. Tug looked surprised at seeing Will. '_So soon?_ ' he seemed to ask Will.

"Yes my faithful steed. We need to find our mistress' dress or we are kicked out forever." Will sighed again. Tug blew air out of his lips to show his disdain. Will laughed.

"Okay, let's go into town to get a bite to eat and talk to the tailor." Will tapped his heels to Tug's barrel-like sides.

Tug trotted all the way from his cabin to the town without stopping, which wasn't surprising because the town was less than a kilometer away. Will reached the tailor's shop without a hitch. Unfortunately, the shop was closed.

"Oh no!" Will screamed. "What will I do? WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME!" he sobbed. Then he quickly sobered up. "Oh well. Time to go eat some dinner." Will jumped back up on Tug and sent him in the direction of Jenny's little establishment that served the best food in town.

When he arrived at Jenny's restaurant, it too was closed. "Wow!" Will said exasperatedly. "I see how this works now. The whole town is conspiring against me. Fine!" Will snarled. "I don't need you in this important mission. See you!" Will set off into the forest, obviously going in the right direction to find Alyss' dress.

Night fell. Will stopped at the very large tree to make camp. Without anything to make camp, Will just lay down and called it camp. "Ugh," Will complained. "I'm hot!" Will took off his cloak. "Ahhhhhh." He said in contentment. Five minutes later he shivered and pulled the cloak back over his shoulders. "Brr. I'm cold!" This unfortunate cycle continued for a good three hours before Will fell asleep with the cloak half on, half off him. His sleep was an unrestful one, one filled with dreams of Alyss deserting him and what he would do.

**OH EM GEE! What will Will(lol) do to get the dress back! OH NOS! Stay tuned for chappie 2!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Meh. I'll respond to your reviews here. Please sign up people. I want the reviews but I'm too lazy to respond here. I'd rather PM you, which is weird cause I work so hard to be lazy….. lol..**

**Ok yeah…**

**Luvergirlof books: This is kinda how I wanted Will to be portrayed. Not like in the beginning Horace idiot, but you know, sorta dumber than now-Will. Thank you!**

**No-NaME(lawlz): First of all. I DON'T RAGE OMFG! Lol! Seriously, I haven't raged people in like a year and I don't plan to. If you are a Will fan and you don't like the way I portray Will, fine, I'll accept that, but I'll keep my Will thank you very much ^^. Awww, do other people diss you. Small world bud. And it does NOT take offense to nicely put comments. :D**

Then next morning, Will woke up to a crow chattering above him. He sat up, rubbed his eyes to get the morning gunk out and stretched. Will immediately saddled Tug and rode into town, determined to find the tailor and to get down to the bottom of this mystery. As he clip-clopped into town, the town was strangely quiet. Even at this time there normally were people about, walking their dogs or just taking a morning stroll. Today, the street was eerily quiet. Will frowned.

After riding for half an hour trying to locate the tailor's shop, he finally stumbled across it. There were still no people about, which worried Will. He jumped off Tug, patted his nose, and went to the tailor's door and tried it. Locked. Will then pounded on the door and yelled, "Hey Tailor! Hello!" he continued to batter the door. There was no response. Will decided to take it into his own hands. He took 5 paces back, lowered his shoulder, and rammed into the door with all his might. The only thing that happened was that Will received a bruised shoulder. Will swore and rubbed his shoulder, which was already turning purple and swelling.

Will decided to give up and rode back to his log cabin, hoping that Alyss would let him back and treat his wounds.

When he arrived and knocked on the door, Alyss yelled hopefully, "Will! Did you find my dress?"

"I tried!" Will yelled back. "Really! But the tailor wasn't in his shop!"

"Too bad!" Alyss retorted. "Find my dress! Then come back!"

"Fine." Will sighed. "Fine! I will!" He whirled around and got back up on Tug. He rode back to the town, hoping that the tailor had returned to his shop.

When he arrived in the town, he was relieved to see people up and about. They were walking, shopping, hawking wares, and just generally doing what people would normally do in the morning.

"Hello Will Treaty!" A shopkeeper called. "What's your business here today?"

"Hi John! I'm here to see the tailor," Will replied.

"Ahh. Getting ready for the ball I see," the shopkeeper commented. He smiled as Will squirmed uncomfortably. Will's avoidance of parties was legendary. Almost as legendary as he himself was.

"No, not that," Will said uncomfortably. "Alyss lost her dress and I believe I left it at the tailor's shop,"

"Oh, ok," John said cheerily. "Did she boot you out the house for losing it?"

"How'd you guess?" Will asked incredously.

John gave Will a knowing wink. "I know all about women. Don't worry. Once you find the dress, it'll all be alright,"

"I hope you're right," Will sighed. He touched his heels to Tug and they slowly made their way through the growing crowds in the direction of the tailor.

When Will arrived at the tailor's the shop was finally open. Will sighed in relief. He dismounted Tug and walked into the shop, pushing the door open. The air inside the shop was hot, humid, and stuffy. The tailor looked up from behind the counter from where he was sitting.

"Good afternoon Will Treaty! How may I help you today?" The shopkeeper asked politely.

"Hello." Will replied. "Well, I believe I left Alyss' dress yesterday when we dropped by," he explained.

"Ah, yes. The dress for the ball," The tailor looked up, his eyes from behind his spectacles, his eyes twinkling.

Will shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, well I was hoping that you had it,"

"I believe so," the tailor replied. "Let me go back to check if I have it, which I'm sure I do. It won't take hardly a minute." The tailor went through a door and quickly returned. He didn't look happy.

"Unfortuently, I do not have the dress with me. I don't know where it went, I was positive it was here before!" the tailor babbled.

Will looked at him. He believed that the tailor was telling the truth, and Will was a good judge of character. "All right, thank you then," Will turned around and walked out the door.

Will walked up to Tug and patted him on the nose. "Well, more work to do," Will mounted Tug and rode towards the main road.

Will went to every shop and every person he knew (which was a lot), and asked if they had seen Alyss' dress. Every single person said no. Will continued for a whole day and at the end of the day, exhausted, he went to Jenny's little restaurant to have a bite to eat. Unfortunately, he didn't see Jenny. He ate his fill of her delicious food before finding an Inn, paid for a room, and fell asleep, exhausted and discouraged.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sigh. Ah Well, one reviewer at a time. Thanks Luvergirl of books :D**

**Oh btw, thank you again my loyal reviewer. Hate ta bust ur bubble, but it's not either of them, I actually dunno who it's gonna be. I'm kinda making everything up on the fly, but it's not them. ;) Good guess.**

**EVERYONE! Keep the guesses flowing in!**

The next morning, Will got up at the crack of dawn. He looked out the window and saw the sun peeking over the horizon, sending bolts of red into the sky, turning some of the sky pink. It was breathtaking. However, Will wasn't there to enjoy the view. He was looking down at the street. Surprisingly, again there were no people out.

Will stretched, quickly gathered all of his things, and ran out the inn after giving the innkeeper a quick thank-you. He saddled Tug, then quickly mounted him. After spending the day and most of the afternoon futilely searching the city, Will decided to take a break and walked into a inn for a drink.

Will nodded toward the bartender. "Hello there. An ale if you don't mind." Will flipped him a silver piece and sat down. The bartender nodded, poured his glass to the top with some bubbly, pale, fizzy ale and set it down in front of Will. Will side and took a long draught, glad to be able to relax for a few minutes. He wiped the bubbles off his upper lip and took another glug.

A man dressed suspiously in long black robes came up to the bar and sat down, and muttered out the corner of his mouth, "Heard you were searching for your wife's dress." Will looked at him carefully. The man looked like a hardened criminal with scarred, calloused hands, and a long white scar going down his forehead to his lower neck.

"Yes I am," Will replied. "Who wants to know?"

The man slid an envelope across the table and quickly turned around and walked out the door. Will quickly opened the letter and it read:

_I have the dress. Be very careful. If you don't do EXACTLY what I tell you to do, the dress goes down the gutters. I have watchers everywhere, beware Will Treaty…_

"Uhhhhh," Will said, slightly confused. "Alyss' dress is being ransomed?" he wondered. He shrugged. He looked down the letter at the first direction.

_Go into Burthope and walk into the Kliktime Inn. A messenger will give you your next directions. Burn this paper or the dress goes down the gutter…_

Will crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the fire crackling merrily away in the fireplace. He ran out the door, resaddled Tug, and mounted up, riding towards Burthope.

Burthope was a good 25 kilometer journey. At the speed that Tug trotted, it would take nearly 2 hours before reaching Burthope, which would mean getting there at around dusk. Will was not happy and riding around in the dark, tripping and stumbling. He could easily hurt himself or Tug. However, he had no choice, so he rode on.

The sun was setting as Will made his way into Burthope. He had made better time than he had thought and arrived about half an hour before dusk. Will asked a few friendly locals to the Kliktime Inn. The pointed to a ramshackle little building on the edge of town. Will frowned. It was exactly the place you would think criminals would be together to plan their next crime. Will tied Tug to a tree a good hundred meters away from the Inn before walking towards the Inn.

He pushed against the door, which would barely budge from all the rust caked on the hinges. He finally forced it open with a groan. The inside wasn't much better than the outside. Will sat down at the bar ad looked at the grim faced men sitting down throughout the inn. Their glasses were as greasy the bartender himself was. The glasses were absolutely horrifying.

"A drink?" The bartender asked, grinning widely showing the stumps of his remaining nine teeth. Will shook his head. The bartender shrugged.

Will waited for a quarter of an hour before a figure just like the one he saw before dropped a letter in front of him before rushing off. Will looked down at the letter. He sighed and opened it. He read:

_Hello Will. What I want you to do is to walk, no donkey please, all the way to Port Caynn. There, the exchange will take place. Your donkey has been taken and is safe. He will be returned to you as soon as we reach a deal. Burn this note after or the dress goes down the gutter. _

Will erupted from his seat, tossed the note in the fire, and hurried outdoors, looking for the familiar figure of Tug. He wasn't there. Will searched desperately without any sign of Tug. Will seethed with anger. "I will come for you, whoever you are!" he snarled before heading in the direction of Port Caynn.


	4. Chapter 4

**To my lower reviewer (you know who you are)…**

** OMG! IKR! Poor Tug, hope their keeping him comfy. He's probably kickin' their ass as they are trying to ride him. Lolz.**

Will walked. He walked for hours under the half crescent moon. The moon shown with its pearly light on the ground. The stars twinkled overhead. However, it was bitterly, bitterly cold. Will sighed and continued walking. In retrospect, Will should have waited till morning before going to Port Caynn. But Will was so caught up in his rage that his mind just blanked. He was so pissed.

Will continued to walk, his head down with his cowl pulled over his head to somewhat protect himself from the cold, biting wind. '_Odd weather for summer'_ Will thought. And it was odd. In the middle of summer, it must have been 10 degrees (Celsius) outside. In the summer, it's normally hot and sticky, but Will could see his own breath, frosting in the night air. Will sighed. Tug had been a constant throughout his life, and now he being taken away, it was devastating. That thought spurred him on, and he walked even faster, determined to walk the near 50 kilometers to Port Caynn by morning.

Later, long after this adventure, Will would laugh at the fact that he was more mad that his horse was stolen that he possibly not having a wife anymore. That of course, did not amuse Alyss one bit.

By morning, Will was roaming the streets of Port Caynn. Port Caynn was a busy shipping town with the smell of fish in the air. Hundreds of boats lined the harbor as men, up early to prep the ships for fishing, were hopping about on the boats. Will didn't know where to go, after all, the letter never told him where the exchange would take place. Suddenly, Will did a double take. He had to get the dress by today and into Alyss' hands by tomorrow. Will decided to go to a random tavern and sit down and hopefully, the "watchers" would give him a note telling him where to go.

Will walked into the first tavern that he saw, which was called: The Wine Glass. Sure enough, they did serve wine there. Will however was exhausted and asked for a cup of coffee. He flipped two bronze coins on the table, layered his coffee with cream and honey, and took a sip. The coffee rejuvenated him and made Will feel a whole lot better, even without rest and walking 50 kilometers through the night.

Will sat and waited. He waited and waited for a long time. He nursed at least 15 cups of coffee. Finally, a man dressed likewise as the other men before him dropped off a letter before walking out the door. It never occurred to Will's now sluggish mind to follow the man. Will tore open the letter which read:

_Hello my friend. So you know what is at stake. Your marriage and your horse._

Will did a double-take. "How did he know that?" Will muttered. He continued reading.

_You've had something that I've always wanted. Your cloak. So at midnight tonight, your marriage and your horse will be saved for the price of your cloak. If you refuse to give up your cloak, your marriage is ruined and your horse will be slaughtered. I will have no qualms killing your horse as that devil has injured four of my men. Anyways, meet me at the Port Caynn Harbor Sandpit tonight at midnight. If you are one minute late, I will leave. You know what happens if I leave. Be there._

_ Yours Truly,_

_ Nobody_

Will crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the fireplace. He looked at the sun and estimated there to be about seven hours to midnight. Will walked out the tavern, found the nearest inn, ordered a room, and slept. However, his sleep was tormented by dreams of Alyss leaving him, Tug dead, and various other scenarios that could happen even if he complied with the person's deal.

A Ranger's cloak is one of the most important tools in the trade. The mottled green, grey, and brown allow an experienced ranger to disappear into the forest. Without it, a Ranger is as useless as a soldier without armor, or a sword. A Ranger cannot randomly give away his cloak; this was a very important decision for Will to make.

Will got up an hour before midnight. He went down, and asked the innkeeper about the Port Caynn Harbor Sandpit. The innkeeper told him how to get there. It was about a half an hour walk to get there.

Will walked to the Port Caynn Harbor Sandpit. It was a huge bowlike bunch of sand. Will sat down at the edge of the bowl and waited. At exactly midnight, a short, stocky figure came behind Will and tapped on his shoulder. Will whipped around and jumped up very quickly, holding his saxe knife at the person's throat. "Give me my belongings back," Will seethed. The man smiled.

The man pulled the hood off his cloak to reveal his mentor, Halt. Halt smiled, and then laughed. He laughed so hard that he collapsed. It was very rare that Halt even smiled, laughing was impossible. But it was happening.

"Halt? What's happening?" Will asked.

"Ohhhh." Halt laughed. He wiped his eyes, looked at Will, and then burst into laughter again.

"Ha ha ha!" Halt laughed. "Oh, it's rare that I get the better of you youngsters. Ha! This was difficult to pull off, but I did it!"

"Wait? So it was you all along?" Will asked, stunned.

"Yes," Halt laughed again. Halt whistled as soon as he stopped laughed. Abelard, with Tug trailing behind came out from the trees not far from the sandpit. The figure on Tug was a familiar one. The figure mounted off Will and ran towards him, enveloping him in a big hug.

"Alyss? What are you doing here?" Will asked, seriously confused.

"Oh Will!" Alyss cried. "This was one big joke? Don't you see?"

"Alyss did a great acting job getting you on this wild good chase," Halt chuckled. "I did the rest,"

"So the dress isn't missing?" Will asked, the events finally catching up to him.

"No. It's at home silly," Alyss laughed and kissed Will. Will sighed.

"Alright. Let's go home," Will mounted Tug and helped Alyss up. Halt mounted Abelard. They turned around and trotted back home.

"Will. Get ready for the ball!"

"Do I have to go?" Will asked.

"YES! Get the clothes I picked for you and get those on!"

"Fine." Will sighed. He put on a white shirt, a blazer over it, some extremely uncomfortable black pants, and shiny black boots. Alyss came in with the beautiful pearl pink dress. Will was stunned. Alyss had curled her hair, and ringlets of blond hair ran all the way down to the small of her back. She had done her makeup, and had earrings, the ones Will had bought for Yuletide, and gold bracelets on her wrists. She was beautiful. Will smiled.

Will walked to Alyss and gave a small bow, offering his elbow. "Are you ready to go my lady?" Will inquired, smiling slightly.

"Yes I am," Alyss smiled back and took his elbow, and they walked, all the way to the castle for the Midsummer's ball.

**How'd you like it? It's done. R&R!**


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